Personal computing @ pulpit

The recently ended week-long strike and protests brought to the fore, various forms of agitations by Nigerians yearning for good governance, including hacking of websites, reports REMMY NWEKE.

Nowadays, watching television, one must have cause to see the display of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) devices known as personal computing by classified men of God in their bid to win more souls for God and keep mankind united as one original family.

Looking around, you can see several pastors and Imams using one mobile device; including iPAD, Galazy Tab, Communicators, mini notebooks, notebooks to name a few; in preaching the gospel.

Historically, personal computers began very prominent in the 1970s and could be defined as computing device intended for individual use, as opposed to a mainframe computer where the end user’s requests are filtered through operating staff, or a time sharing system in which one large processor is shared by many individuals. After the development of the microprocessor, individual personal computers were low enough in cost that they eventually became affordable consumer goods.

ITRealms Online gathered that early personal computers were generally called microcomputers; and were even sold often in electronic kit form and in limited numbers, and were of interest mostly to hobbyists and technicians.

Experts at the open source encyclopedia, Wikipedia, said that a personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price makes it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator.

The pointed out that in contrast, the batch processing or time-sharing models allow larger, more expensive minicomputer and mainframe systems to be used by many people, usually at the same time, which culminates into large data processing systems that would require a full-time staff to operate efficiently.

Software applications for personal computers include, but are not limited to, word processing, spreadsheets, databases, Web browsers and e-mail clients, digital media playback, games, and myriad personal productivity and special-purpose software applications.

Additionally, modern personal computers often have connections to the Internet, allowing access to the World Wide Web and a wide range of other resources. Even as personal computers may be connected to a local area network (LAN), either by a cable or a wireless connection.

Therefore, a personal computer may be a desktop computer or a laptop, tablet, iPAD, mini notebooks or a handheld PC, netbooks, Tablet PCs, and smartphones.

Some of those sites that could not be over-looked easily includes the fact that the likes of Rev. Fr. George Ehusani, Pastor Femi Faseru, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome to name just a few.

At the Church of the Assumption, Asokoro, Abuja where Rev. Fr. George Ehusani is the current parish priest, the usage of PowerPoint for the presentation of Gospel readings and analogy, cannot go unnoticed. Hence, Fr. Ehusani takes the congregation step by step of the readings, especially on Sunday mornings for those who are keen television viewers.

For the resident Pastor of Kingsway International Christian Centre Maryland in Mende, Lagos, Mr. Femi Faseru, lots of things have gone digital and there is no reason actually to stay miles away as far as adaption is concerned. After all, as he said, “There is Bible on the ipad.”

Another follower of this trend, Mr. Sunday Folayan, noted that Bible or Quran have since become part of technology. According to him, ancient Imams and Pastors used Papyrus and there was no television (TV). He also urged for understanding and celebration of progress made by humanity in making life easier.  “… Now, that is what I call real make-up!!”

Zakarriah Daramola, a public analyst described the development as a good omen and should be encouraged, so as not to leave such an important group of people like pastors and imams behind in technological adaptation.

Also commenting, Ugo Nkwocha said that currently the world is no longer in the days of old. “So, we are in the days of electronic; in a computerised age,” adding that even without the iPads and notebooks, people can still download a Bible or Quran and read through a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)-enabled mobile devices.

GPRS is a packet oriented mobile data service on the Second Generation (2G) and Third Generation (3G) cellular communication system’s global system for mobile.

“So, I think the pastors and imam have also upgraded. Hence, there is nothing wrong with it. They are growing with the wind of change. That is, changing with the times,” she declared.

Further, she agreed with the notion that the congregation should follow their leaders like Pastors and Imams by attending religious occasions with their own personal computing devices, “so that when they quote a chapter, you just scroll to it instead of physical Bible or Quran?”

And until such a time when the congregation would start to attend religious occasions purposely with their mobile or personal computing devices, the indication remains that everyone is keying into the fact that ICT tools must be used and positively too in order to adequately bridge the digital divide between the developing countries of the world and the advanced nations.

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